How To Organise The Pantry To Prep For Summer Harvests

This time of year it is essential to make room for the future harvests. To that end, I have dehydrated and ground almost ten litres of fermented curry paste and turned it into curry powder. I got about 5 litres worth of curry powder. I will do the same with the taco paste and possibly the adzuki miso as well.

I am working hard at using up dry goods and I have organised all of my flour. I have also begun making a new batch of gluten-free flour blend since I ran out. Some flours have been difficult to get a hold of right now, but I have been able to replace them by tweaking my blend.

Staying organised

To organise the pantry, I have decided to purchase this rectangular wooden cart on wheels for my canned goods and such. It’ll be used in the cold storage pantry. I will receive it tomorrow and I’ll set things up in the pantry on Friday. I’ll need to treat it with oil and cold coffee before I fill it. I’ll take some photos and show you how things turn out.

The freezer is pretty much full since I was able to buy tofu in bulk while it was on discount last week. I bought 35 packs and in each pack, there were two tofu packages. So now I have tofu to eat for many, many months ahead. Possibly enough to last me till the end of the year.

I have been baking a lot lately. Blueberry muffins, lemon spongecake, blueberry crumble and cinnamon buns. And I also have some arrak oat cookies left, so I have enough treats to last me for months.

Chasing the best prices and buying in bulk

After I have bought some more rice noodles in bulk and some more protein chocolate soy milk, I won’t need to purchase any food until this fall. The exception will be when I purchase peaches and other fruit in bulk at a discount to preserve enough fruit to last me until next summer. Still, it won’t cost much.

I may elect to purchase some special treat for my birthday though, and if I do, I will consider the purchase non-essential and label it as “eating out”. I will eat well regardless, so that makes the purchase non-essential, but I do believe in making birthdays special, so it is a potential expense that I am fine with. The two major events that I celebrate in a year and spend a little bit of money on are my birthday and Samhain.

The essentials in my longterm pantry

I have 5-10 years worth of soy sauce and gochujang – Korean chilli paste. But I will be making more soy sauce come fall. I just need to decide if I want to make Korean soy sauce or Japanese soy sauce. I am leaning towards Japanese.

I have about 2-3 years worth of doenjang, aka miso paste and adzuki miso. I also have an ongoing ACV and 5 litres of homemade mirin. There are two bottles of sake left from last year’s batch.

I have curry powder and taco powder to last me for up to a decade.

I have about a year’s worth of rice.

The freezer is full of a year’s worth of cheese, a lot of baked goods, tofu, berries and more sake lees.

I have adzuki beans, mung beans and various seeds and berries in air tight glass jars or mylar bags. I will make adzuki tempeh this summer.

I have tea, herbs and seasoning to last me at least two years and I grow my own so I’m bound to get another year’s worth from the garden this year.

I have potatoes, red onions, yellow onions and one or two garlic bulbs on hand as well. I don’t want to buy more garlic since my own will be ready for harvest in a few more weeks. I won’t buy more onions either, since I have onions, leeks and green onions growing in the garden.

I have other basics such as oats, sugar, flour for the sourdoughs, and then five sourdoughs, pickled padróns, crushed tomatoes, and canned goods. There’s probably something more, but that’s a rough estimate of what I currently keep in my long-term pantry.

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